When the colorblind eyes of a reconnaissance satellite pass over Indias Gujarat state, they capture an unflattering and unadulterated image of the city of Ankleshwar, an industrial center northwest of Bombay.
In stark white are the basins of salt. In light gray are the roads, carved out of the swirled black and white ground. In thick black squares are the agricultural plots.
But with the image taken -- and made available to industrialists and city planners -- the eyes pass on to capture other sights: perhaps the coastal state of Maharastra to warn farmers of incoming locusts. Or maybe to the desert of Rajasthan state to pinpoint well sites in the cracked earth.
For over 10 years, Indias Earth-pointing space cameras have helped farmers sow their fields, fishermen cast their nets, city planners design new towns, and navigators move around the sea.
With resolution of up to 19.0 feet (5.8 meters), the four Indian Remote Sensing Satellites are the best money can buy.
That is, until the Ikonos satellite, set to launch this Friday, boosts the bar on commercially available satellite image resolution to 3.2 feet (one meter).
Ikonos is a privately-funded satellite put together by Space Imaging Inc. that will forever change the landscape of Earth imaging. Its views, as an example, will clearly mark the 10-yard lines on a football field. When over Mile High Stadium in Denver, the words "Broncos" will be visible in the end-zone.
But while Ikonos will show better images, India, as one of the only developing countries with its own remote sensing satellite, will likely retain its reputation for having developed some of the worlds most useful applications for Earth imaging.
The country can now prevent the destruction that millions of locusts cause throughout Indias western states wreak. Satellites predict their path, giving farmers enough time to spray pesticide over the right areas.
And in the coastal areas, tens of thousands of fishermen have been trained to read color satellite images of the ocean to pick the best locations and times to unfurl their nets.
In addition to saving crops, Indias satellites have also made life considerably easier for many villagers.
In Rajasthan, where deserts sprawl, villagers have had to walk up to 25 kilometers to find potable water. Indias remote sensing satellites have eliminated that distance in 60 villages by finding untapped well sites within town limits.
"India is one of the uniquely positioned countries which has developmental problems at the same time it has developed space technology to help solve these problems," says one Indian space official.
"We have developed applications which the other countries never needed to do," he said. "That is why in applications we are far, far ahead."
And while Ikonos will displace Indias remote sensing satellites as the best around, the Indian space program only stands to benefit.
Ikonos images will be available for download to anyone around the world with the money to pay for them.
India also hopes Ikonos will help popularize satellite imagery to increase business for its own satellite array.
"We are looking forward to [Ikonos] successful launch," the Indian space official said. "We believe that whenever a new entrant comes into play, it will also bring in a segment of the market."
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